If we had the chance to do it all again?
by EndEmi
Summary: Draco and Harry had always been at each others throats. There was no secret that they both hated one another, envied the way the other was treated, the way they lived. So when they both suddenly find themselves in a reversed roll, how will they deal with the situation? Truth or war? friendship or perhaps love? Kind of time travel/parallel universe. OOC:ness.
1. What happened?

Perhaps it was a good thing the school was asleep. Somewhere in the halls there was Mr Flinch and Mrs Norris wandering around and keeping an eye out but not there. There they were safe, at least until one of them decided to break their silent stand of and actually attack the other.

Harry's wand pointed straight towards Malfoy's and the other boy met his cool eyes with a equal calm gaze. Before that day they hadn't been quarreling for some time, they had actually begun to accept one another, figuring out after years of fighting and brawling that they weren't that different in the end.

But then night like this one came.

A night where both of them had begun by waking up on the wrong side, where Harry had felt so alone, outside the rest of the population where everyone treated him like something made out of glass. When his fame and God-like glory would make people swarm after him like ants to honey, when all he ever wanted was to be left alone. Hermione and Ron were content, they had after so much bickering finally found each other. Harry was happy for them, his friends deserved one another, but there was times when he himself wanted someone to feel connected to. Draco had almost ended up in the same predicament, his status as a soon-to-be death eater had made people fear and respect him in equal measures and he just couldn't stand it. Couldn't stand to not have any real friends that liked him for who he was, and not his father or his reputation, but it seemed impossible.

It had begun like so many fights did, with Harry and his friends walking past, merrily talking to each other and Draco had felt jealous. A fairly innocent taunt was all that was needed for Harry to react badly, throwing something equally demeaning back the two had begun to jab insults at one another until Hermione, Ron and Pansy Parkinson had joined them on either side of the argument. The fight became physical, in a sense, when wands was drawn and hexes was thrown across the room before the great hall. None hit it's target before Mcgonagall's icy tone made everything freeze and students that were cheering on had vanished in the blink of an eye. Harry and Draco was led to her office and got one hell of a telling off, not long after they were out again, blood still boiling from previous confrontation and a promise of revenge was made.

They were to meet that night, just the two of them, in the corridor on the third floor near the praying monk statue. It was a place people seldom used, the classrooms was for N.E.W.T. students when they needed extra lessons. They were to see who was the worthy one.

Harry knew, somewhere inside that it was pure madness to make such a promise to Malfoy, but he hadn't thought rationally, he just wanted revenge.

Draco on the other hand had seen this as his chance, to finally prove he was better than Potter and maybe deserved some of the glory he had too.

But things had gone so incredibly wrong from the start.

Harry had begun the night by having a slight argument with Ron, it wasn't often they argued but Harry was so sick and tired of his friend treating him like he didn't know what he was doing. He knew Ron didn't mean to be rude and he couldn't know that Harry didn't want to take Ginny to the Halloween feast, because to Ron it was obvious they wanted each other. But Harry was tired of having her, like everybody else, treating him like some kind of God.

So Harry had tried to explained to Ron that he wasn't sure Ginny really was the one but his friends hadn't wanted to listen to that ear. After a while Harry had been so frustrated that he had stormed back to their dorm, grabbed the invisibility cloak and left the tower without another word to nither Ron nor Hermione, who had tried to keep out of the discussion with her nose in a book. Harry didn't care if it was still time before his and Malfoys meeting, he just needed some space.

Harry had taken his invisibility cloak to first of all avoid the foul janitor that roamed the halls and his cat. But Peeves had gotten in his way and almost made Harry blind when he tipped one of the huge statues over him and Harry had to throw himself out of the way, hitting his head on the floor and cracking his glasses when he landed, barely avoided getting glass in his eye. His face stung but he couldn't say a word in case he would be discovered, so he scrambled to his feet and hurried out of there as quick as possible. When he reached the stairs he dared to stop and throw a Reparo over his glasses, just like Hermione had done that first time they met on the train to Hogwarts, it had become quite a useful spell since then.

But he didn't dare to do anything to his burning face, Harry had never been good with healing spells and he didn't dare to point his wand to his own face and maybe hex away his nose or anything. Not before this important meeting with Malfoy.

Dizzy and with a still burning face, Harry made his way to the third floor. For a moment he wondered why they hadn't chosen to meet outside, in the astronomy tower perhaps. Maybe Malfoy wanted the attention when the whole school could hear them hex each other. He hurried his footsteps as softly as he could, just in case some other ghost of that damn cat would be around the next corner, but he met no one. Not until he reached the outspoken corridor and could see someone sitting along the wall in the far end.

Harry was sure it was Malfoy, he didn't know if he was late of if Malfoy had been early, but that didn't matter, now they were here to end things. Harry drew himself closer, still with the cloak over his head he wanted to go for and dramatic entrance when he was near enough for Malfoy to scream like a Niffler. But as he approached his rival, Harry drew to an halt, something with the boy seemed wrong.

Malfoy was sitting along the wall, legs pulled into his body and head buried in his crossed arms that rested on the knees. He looked almost like he was crying and had pulled in on himself like Harry had seen Hermione do in their first year. But not a movement nor a sound came from the boy on the floor so crying it could not be. And despite that, it would have been so out of character if Malfoy really was crying that Harry would have taken him for an imposter instead of the real deal.

Harry stood like frozen in the spot, a few feet away from Malfoy and just watched him. Something felt so incredibly wrong but he could not put his finger on what. Suddenly Malfoy's whole being stiffened and he flew to his feet. The boy ran his wide grey eyes straight past Harry and down the corridor but found nothing, he spun around and drew his wand, muttering quietly to himself about Pheeves and ghosts. Harry felt suddenly stupid for wanting to make an entrance and pulled himself backwards and around the corner, when out of sight from Malfoy he pulled the cloak aside and stuffed it behind a painting with a slumbering knight, he could get it in the morning. Then he drew a breath of encouraging air and rounded the corner so Malfoy could spot him.

The moment their eyes met something in Harry begun burning. The same rage he had felt earlier that day when Malfoy was throwing insults at his friends, the same frustration he always felt when the other was around. Malfoy who already had his wand out, raised it when Harry approached. He did the same and stopped in the same spot he had previously stood. They were now facing each other, non had a really clear picture what they wanted to do, just inflict pain on the other.

Harry wasn't sure if the look he saw pass over Malfoy's face in that moment was due to his still hurting eye or to something else. But when a small movement from the other made him aware that they were actually dueling without having said a word to the other, he reacted on instinct and threw the first curse that came to his head.

Malfoy had apparently done the same and their hexes clashed with a bright light and a loud whip and then everything went black.


	2. Confused

The first thing Harry felt when consciousness crept upon him was headache. The pondering pain that spread from his temples down in his body wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, but it wasn't a welcoming one either. He struggled to remember where he was and what had happened but came up with nothing. The bed under him felt comfortable and the last thing he wanted was to wake up somewhere he didn't remember getting, like the hospital wing. Images of a dark corridor came seeping back and then steel grey eyes that stared straight into his over the tip of a wand.

That's right, he fought with Malfoy last night. It must have been a short duel because Harry would only remember throwing one curse at the boy, maybe he had missed and Malfoy had knocked him unconscious. It wasn't entirely impossible, and neither would the thought be of him being in the hospital wing either. But for him to get there after their fight, someone must have found him and dragged him there then, could that someone be…

He didn't get the chance to brood longer on his predicament before a loud noise like from a door and shouting voices was heard all around him. Was people really allowed to scream in the hospital wing for Madame Pomphrey? Harry screwed his eyes shut even harder and tried to get his still aching head away from the loud people when someone suddenly punched him in the stomach.

"For fucks sake Potter, get your lazy, hungover ass up from the bed already. Blaise are going to get sober before you are dressed and beside, breakfast gonna end soon anyway"

The voice was unfamiliar and so was the cascade of laughters that could be heard after the boy's insults. Harry's eyes had flown open with the punch and he stared into a face he never had seen in such close proximity before, Theodore Nott.

Nott was smiling at him and drew back as Harry slowly sat up, what in the name of Merlin was Nott doing waking him up, in the hospital wing? But somehow it didn't feel like the bright room with white linen he was used to waking up in, everything as damper, more dark in colour and Harry came to the horrible conclusion that he must have been kidnaped by the Slytherins. His head was pondering mercilessly and everyone around him seemed too calm and friendly for him to be held hostaged. Blaise Zabini held out something towards him with a small smile and Harry immediately recognized it as a hangover potion. First he didn't know what to do, if they would poison him surely they would do it in a more eloquent way. Not in their own dorm, surrounded by other students and in a bottle disguised as a curing potion.

Zabini made a urging motion for him to take the flask without saying a word and Harry, for lack of better things to think of, took it. He didn't drink it, never trusting something he was handed from a Slytherin but his head was pounding so bad he almost believed anything would be better than the pain. He uncorked the vial but before he could even smell it, Nott had thrown a heap of clothes at him before explaining loudly that he would in any case not miss breakfast just because Harry decided to drink too much last night, the slytherin left the room with two student Harry had no name on in tow.

Harry threw a look at Zabini who was sitting on a bed beside the one he sat on and tied his shoes slowly.

"Maybe Pansy was right last night Harry, sometimes you are so much talk and no action"

The boy didn't look up from his shoelaces, Harry had no idea what Zabini could possible talk about, but right then it didn't matter as much. Just hearing Zabini using his first name was so strange that he almost dropped the potion he was holding. He reached out the unoccupied hand to feel if he didn't have and wounds where his head hurted the most, just because a bunch of slytherins said he was hungover didn't mean they hadn't hexed him. But the movement felt foreign and it took some seconds before Harry figured out what was missing, his glasses.

He wasn't wearing his glasses and even so he had been able to see everything that was going on around him perfectly. In a far too practiced motion Harry turned towards the nightstand to locate his spectacles, but nothing was there. Just an half empty bottle of firewhiskey with a red kiss-mark and a name scribbled across in the same red colour. Probably lipstick. Had he seriously got a pick-up note on a bottle? That was just insane and so wrong in every way. But Harry guessed he had been exposed to worse tries to get his attention, as long as no one forced a love potion down his throat or hexed him to falling in love with them, he should be happy.

With the hangover vial still in his left hand Harry begun to rumble around in the bundle of clothes Nott had thrown at him but still no glasses. Zabini was just calmly watching him from his spot on the opposite bed. If he wondered what Harry was doing, he didn't say anything about it.

"Where is my glasses?" He couldn't resist to ask, what if someone had hidden them as a prank. It was still so strange that he really didn't need them that it simply must not be true.

Zabini looked stunned by the question, like he didn't understand it.

"What are you talking about Harry, you'd never had glasses?"

"Yes I have, they…" But then he hesitated, if he was able to see this clear without them, then maybe he never had any. That just made sense. His face must have been the funniest thing to watch, morphing from terrified to confused to even more confused during the 5 minutes he had been awake. Zabini woke him from his thoughts.

"I really don't want to rush you Harry, but Theo was right, if you don't hurry you're going to miss breakfast and on top of that, to taunt your favorite pet before first class"

"My favourite... pet?"

This made things even more confusing, did the Slytherins think he was one of them? Was he referring to Hedwig or a person, Harry never taunt anyone as far as he knew. Zabini raised one eyebrow at him.

"Yes, Malfoy? You know the nerdy Gryffindor that you can't get enough of and try to make his life more miserable for every waking hour?"

Harry stiffened and almost dropped the hangover potion in his hand again, did Zabini just refer to the one and only Malfoy as a nerdy Gryffindor pet that Harry liked to taunt? Everything in that sentence just sounded wrong but it made Harry get a move on. He threw back and swallowed the potion in his hand in one gulp, no longer caring if he was being poisoned or not. He scrambled with the pile of clothes to the bathroom to change, he could hear Zabini chuckled in the background and mumble.

"Well that made you move, huh?"

He added a bit louder so Harry could hear him through the closed door.

"I'll go and meet Pansy, see you in the common room"

Harry didn't answer but Zabini left anyway.

In his hurry, Harry barely noticed that the clothes he was trying to throw on was much nicer than the ones he regularly wore. The shirt was soft and black, probably cashmere. The pants was black as well, despite the state they had previously been in, a pile on his bed, he could still see the clean creased in them. Harry almost forgot the tie in his rush to, to what really? But when he grabbed it the last moment he couldn't help but to stop. Even though he should already gotten the hint that he was in Slytherin, that the other students was probably playing a huge prank on him so everyone could laugh at his startling state when he entered the great hall. Even though all that, Harry would never get used to the fact that he in public, would be wearing slytherin colors.

He examined the tie, it felt nice in his hand and the colors was not so bad when he truly looked at them. It must be the green and silver in combination with most of the Slytherins pissy personality that made it awful. He threw it around his neck in a casual fashion and tried to make a knot, it didn't look good. He had never been a master of tying knots and not even now could he make it look presentable, with all the fine clothes he wore.

To make a desperate attempt to save it he loosened it a bit, no one would comment if he had made it looked disheveled on purpose, right?. As an extra bit, or maybe just out of habit, he moved a hand through his hair, making it look even more ruffled than usual. Nothing to do about it, his hair would never comply anyway.

Harry took another look at his strange reflection, something like this was not a thing you saw every day and would probably never see again after the slytherins had gotten their joke across. He wondered why he went through with this in the first place, why he let himself be manhandled by a group of Slytherins for their own amusements sake. And if Malfoy was in on it too? The Malfoy Harry knew would never let himself be called a nerdy Gryffindor behind his back, even if he was aware of it. Well he guessed he would just wait and see. The reason he had gotten up so quickly was because of curiosity, still ashamed of the possibly laughing, but he couldn't deny that he wanted to see how it ended.

Moving out of the bathroom and down to the common area Harry knew that he had taken more time than he should with getting dressed, and the other had probably already left. But to his surprise was Zabini and even Parkinson still there. They turned when they heard him approached.

"About Goddamn time Potter, you are really making us late you know!"

Parkinson looked offended but Harry could see she fought back a smile. What made her smile by the sight of him? Zabini rose to his feet and begun to move towards the door, Parkinson followed.

"And here I thought Harry would be the first one up, after all that talk yesterday and you would think today was the day. But as usual he just wanna play rough. I never had any doubt they couldn't do it but as Malina said, two peas in the same pod does not make a great soup. I'm not really sure what she mean by that but you see last year my mother told me…."

Pansy Parkinson talked on but not Harry nor Zabini was listening. They walked a step behind the babbling girl who didn't seem to notice none of the two boys gave any indication of listening at all. Harry threw a look around as they walked. Neither the common room nor the path leading up from the dungeons was as dark or as scary as Harry had imagined. The dorms had actually been really nice, stone walls decorated with deep soft fabrics, greens and black and grey in warm shades had made it quite inviting. The common room had been spacious, with a huge fireplace surrounded by green couches. It was not that much different from the Gryffindor tower expect there everything was in red and gold. The corridor they walked in was lit with torches and had some painting hanging here and there, just like the rest of the castle. He felt a bit shameful when he thought the slytherin's would live in a dark, wet, moldy dungeon. Of course they didn't, they were just regular student and with rich parents, they would never be allowed to live in something that wasn't up to the parents standards.

Harry noticed that Zabini was looking at him as he walked lost in his thoughts, the other's face was open, curious and looked like he wanted to ask something in which to Harry raised both eyebrows at him, as a invite to ask whatever he wanted to ask. Zabini took it and with low voice to not disturb Parkinson's monologue he asked.

"Is there something bothering you Harry?"

Harry had no idea how to respond honestly to a friendly question like that. There was a lot bothering him, everything in fact, but that was so vague that he didn't want to answer with 'everything'. He tried something else.

"Well, I can't seem to remember anything from last night, was there a party? Did I say something?"

Zabini chuckled and Parkinson threw an evil eye at him and commented that her aunts sisters wart problem was no laughing matter, before she continued as if they were listening.

"You didn't really say anything out of the ordinary. A lot of fire whisky perhaps. Some shameless flirting, some threats about dueling matched everyone knew would never happen, complaining about Malfoy. You know, the usual"

Harry couldn't help but give a start with the name Malfoy, why was he so strangely involved in this insane joke. Zabini gave him a look.

"You know you are not really acting anything like yourself this morning Harry, did anything happened last night that I should know about?"

Harry shrugged. He felt that it was safest to go on the 'memory loss' card instead of explaining how out of place he felt. How could they play this joke so carefree, was he the only one disturbed by it?

"As I said I don't remember last night. So I guess you'll have to tell me what happened"

Zabini looked as if he was racking his brain.

"No, like I said, nothing out of the ordinary so you can relax. Stop acting like a scared cat and snap back to your regular self. Everything it's going to be fine"

Harry wondered what was going to be fine, the joke? He embarresing himself infront of the whole school when showing up in Slytherin colors? Probably both.

They finally reached the end of the corridor that lead up to the entrance hall. There was not a single soul outside which made it easier to breath for Harry. But he soon realised that it would only mean that there were more people in the great hall that could stare and laugh at him. Zabini must have seen Harry's scared look and put a hand on his head to ruffle his hair even more. Harry who despite his short start had grown quite a bit in the last years, was still noticeably shorter than Zabini and felt embarrassed to be treated like a first year.

"Chill dude, I have no idea what could have happened between last night and now to make you like this but I'm sure you're overreacting"

Harry only nodded, he was certain he wasn't overreacting but he could do nothing about it. Why hadn't he protested earlier, when they were in the dorms, he could have just said no and marched out of there, back to his own bed. But things had just slowly escalated and he guessed he had his own curiosity to blame. Maybe he now could run and hide somewhere for the rest of his life, or maybe sneak back up to the Gryffindor tower when Parkinson and Zabini wasn't looking. The chance was slim but anything would be better than facing a room full of students and teachers who would all be staring and laughing their ass off just because the Slytherin decided to play him one.

But he had no choice and with Zabini's hand now on his back, slightly pushing the tense boy towards the double doors, his time was up. Here goes nothing, Harry thought and resisted the sudden urge to close his eyes as they passed through.

Nothing.

Not a single loud laugh could be heard and Harry, who despite his honest attempt to not close his eyes had not succeeded, threw them open to stare. The great hall looked like it always did. The roof was littered with stray clouds under a blue morning sky and students sat by their tables, eating breakfast without a care in the world. Harry was confused. If no one was in on the joke then what was the purpose of it.

Harry's eyes wandered over one table at the time to see if he spotted anything abnormal, but everything looked the same. He was still being pushed in the direction of the Slytherin table when he spotted a familiar mop of brown hair at the other end of the room.

It was Hermione and in front of her sat Ron, as usual he heaved down his food and Hermione looked like she was doing faced at her friend. Harry wanted to call out to them, shout that he was being kidnaped by the Slytherins and ask why they hadne't even looked for him. But the air stocked itself in his throat.

The back of another head had caught his attention and like Hermione's curly mop, this one he also recognized all too well. This time his voice came out loud and clear.

"Malfoy!?"

The whole room fell quiet faster than it had ever done before when said blond turned around with jerk. Harry could hear Zabini mumble 'way to be subtle Harry' beside him but Harry no longer cared about being laughed at.

He was entirely too busy staring at his former archenemy who now looked exactly like Zabini had described him, like a nerdy Gryffindor. The grey eyes looked so much bigger and clearer when framed by the round spectacles that used to adore Harry's face. His bangs hung down over his forehead and a red and gold scarf was wrapped hapadzly around his neck, like he had protested greatly but finally given in about wearing it. The two of them stared at each other and Harry swore he could feel the whole room hold its breath. The open amazement in Malfoy's face made something stir in Harry's stomach, nerves maybe? Then Malfoy spoke hesitantly.

"Potter?"


	3. Blind

The loud noises around Draco wasn't something new, he was used to waking up with Pansy and Nott arguing in their dorm or to Blasie sitting on his bed while talking to someone across the room. No it was not the noises in particular that really woke Draco up, but the snores.

There had never been anyone in the slytherin dorms that snore and if someone had decided they needed a little company in their bed they better keep it to themselves. Draco wanted to just turn over and fall back to unconsciousness, but when he woken up, there was no point to try to go back to sleep.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was blurr, he blinked a couple of times to get his eyes to focus from tiredness but nothing became better. Confused he lifted his hand to take away whatever it was that shielded his face from the rest of the world, but there was nothing. Draco begun to get worried, what in the world had Potter done to him.

Thinking backwards to the night before Draco tried to remember what curse Potter had used, but the only one he had heard was LegLock before his memory became blank. How had he ended up back in his bed? There must have been a teacher or maybe a classmate that had brought him back, probably a classmate, if it was a teacher he would have woken up in the hospital wing and there he was definitely not. And his eyes would definitely be working right now.

The Colours around him was warm and dark, it was pretty early morning judging by the light that slipped through the far end window.

Draco had to make a double check to see if he wasn't still sleeping. It was incredibly blurry but it had to be a window over there, right? But there was no windows in the slytherin dorm… He crawled out of bed, careful to not wake whoever was snoring in the room and moved with outstretched hands towards the light source.

Draco felt ridiculous walking like that but he didn't want to break something just because he didn't see it. When he came near the light his fingers hit something freezing and he retreated in shock. He squinted with his nearly un-seeing eyes and then something came into focus, the fact that the cold thing his fingers felt was indeed glas. It still left the question as to why someone decided to install a window in their dorm while Draco was sleeping.

He drew backwards, not sure someone was pulling his legs or if this really was a strange dream, he hoped for the latter. But as he went backwards his leg hit a bedpost and something fell to the ground. Whatever it was it made an awful lot of noise and for a moment Draco didn't dare to breath.

Hi tried to listen, it didn't sound as if he had woken the snoring person but to be sure he slowly walked back towards his own bed. If this was all a nightmare then he would definitely try to fall back asleep, or perhaps wake up. But he didn't make it all the way back before someone grabbed him by the shoulder.

Draco would never admit that he screamed in shock, even if you'd put dementores to torture him would Draco Malfoy admit that whoever could sneak up on his also made him scream like that. The other person retreated too by the loud noise.

"Woh, take it easy Draco. I just asked if you were alright?"

"Who in Merlin's beard are you!" He demanded.

The voice he didn't recognize, or perhaps he didn't want to admit that he did indeed recognize it but it sounded too much like that Longbottom for it to be real. Draco stared as well as he could at the person but no matter how much he squinted, it still looked an awful lot like Longbottom.

"Oh wait, I'll get you glasses"

The person left and Draco could see the blurry shape move back to his bed, grab something and then turned back towards him. Oh no, Draco would not tolerate being forced on something he didn't need, so he tried to back away from the person who came even closer. No-possibly-Longbottom sounded confused.

"Wha… here. You'll see better with them"

"Are you crazy, I'm not going to take anything…"

But he never manage to finish the sentence before not-Longbottom pressed the spectacles onto his face and suddenly everything became clear. Not-Longbottom who apparently Was Longbottom stood before him looking slightly irritated, a look Draco had never seen on the clumsy boy before.

"You really are a nursiant in the morning, you'd know that"

And with that he left Draco, still standing in the middle of the room completely speechless. What in the world was going on? He moved a hand slowly to feel the frames on his face, they were indeed glasses and by the look of it, something he needed.

He turned back to the window which, to his surprise was placed high up and he could see the planes of grass that shone in the early sunrays below the window, what was happening, what was he doing in the gryffindor dorm, and no one seemed surprised either? Draco took some staggering steps back to 'his' bed as the questions swirled in his head, he almost managed to reach the bed when the snoring abruptly ended and Ron Weasley sat up with a jerk.

"NO! You can't take it! It's mine!"

His voice was a shrill and it made Draco stare at him with wide eyes, even Longbottom poked his head around the bathroom door to stare at his friend. Something came flying over Draco's head and hit Wesley straight in the stomach.

"For the love of Merlin Ron, shut up in the morning will you! Some of us are still trying to sleep!"

Wesley slung the pillow he'd been hit with back in the direction of Dean Thomas but it didn't make it all the way. Thomas looked raging mad to be woken up that early and Draco did not wanted to be in Wesley's place right then. Wesley himself mostly looked confused, he was probably still not entirely awake and judging by the rolling of the eyes and swift closing of the bathroom door from Longbottom, this looked like a regular occurring event. Another tired sounding voice came from the heap of linen and one-less pillow covering Thomas bed.

"Deeean, why do you always complain about Ron when it was Draco that begun by screaming like a girl?"

Dean Thomas folded his arms and looked offended but just mumbled under his breath.

"Well Seamus, if Ron could stop dreaming about food all the time I would be happily obliged to also acknowledge Draco stumbling around blind before the break of dawn"

Seamus Finnigans messy mop of head suddenly popped up from the sheets and stared at the other occupant in the bed.

"I call bull and you know it. Go back to sleep instead and leave Ron alone, he probably is just sat on a diet by Hermione again"

"Wouldn't be a problem if he just stopped shoving food down his throat all the time"

Thomas voice was now muffled, he had done as Finnigan said and laid back down again with the others arm wrapped around his middle"

Draco felt like he'd been hit by lightning where he stood. Seriously, what kind of fucked up dream was this? Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan? Really? He shook his head hard, maybe something would fall into place if he just hit it really hard against something, but in fear of making too much noise and get to see Thomas and Finnigan again, he refrained.

Opting for pinching his arm as hard as possible instead didn't make the results he wished for, just a burning spot that slowly turned red, like the drapes still around him. Draco heaved a sigh, fine, if he were to go back to his dorm on his own and maybe let Pansy hit him as she has so many times before when she thought he wasn't listening, so may it be. He scanned the place around 'his' bed after some decent clothes but found nothing. He hesitated before looking through the coffin that stood by the foot of the bed but concluded that he had no choice.

The bag was not as big of a mess he had feared, it was actually pretty neat organized and after the first wave of relief, Draco begun looking for something to wear. Weasley was still sitting in his bed with a lost look on his face, but when he saw Draco sorting through the bag, he reacted.

"Wait, didn't you say you wouldn't go to breakfast today, in case of you-know-who?"

That made Draco stop, with a hand clutched around a hideous gryffindor tie he looked up at the read headed boy.

"What in Salazar's name would the Dark Lord have to do with breakfast?"

Luckily enough, Weasley was the only one conscious in the room at that moment who could have heard him calling He-who-must-not-be-named the Dark Lord, but Draco didn't care. Weasley seemed confused.

"Wha.. dark lord? You mean Voldemort?"

Without meaning to, Draco flinched by the mentioning of the Dark Lord's name. He knew he should be used to it, but it always managed to trigger a feeling of discomfort and disgust in him. Something he never wanted anyone to know, ever. He tried to cover it with a slight cough.

"Yes, him. What had he to do with breakfast?"

Weasley looked as if he thought long and hard about Draco's question before letting out a laugh-snort kind of sound.

"No, I mean Potter. You know, the gorgeous asshole know-it-all you'd been swooning over even though he hates your guts and take every opportunity to mock you in front of the whole school? You said yesterday that you didn't wanna deal with it anymore and from that moment was going to do everything you could do avoid him? Don't you remember?"

But Draco had stopped listening after the word 'gorgeous know-it-all' what in the seven hells kind of fucked up dream was this? Did Weasley seriously think that he would sink so low as to call Potter, The Harry Potter anything in the lower spectrum of beautiful? Weasley must be seriously touched in the head if he thought Draco would even think of doing something like that. He needed to wake up from this gay-friendly dream he had fallen into. First Thomas and Finnigan and not Potter? This was just too much.

Weasley must have mistaken Draco's shell shocked expression of terror and disgust for confusion because he held up his hands with the palms turned away like he defended himself.

"Your words, not mine mate. I always thought he was an ass, never saw what you could possibly see in him, you and the rest of the school"

The last part was just a mumble but Draco heard him anyway.

So that part was the same then, the school still adored their saviour. Just that somehow they had gotten it confused that he did it too? This was pure madness.

He continued to dig in the suitcase until he found something barely resembling decent clothes. He pulled out a green shirt that had been on the bottom of the trunk and a pair of dark jeans. It would have to do, perhaps no one would see the horrendous shirt under his school robes but he tried to stuff as much as possible into the pants just in case. When he once again held onto the red and gold tie he contemplated just leaving it there, but the teachers would have a fit if he showed up in class without it so he guessed he got to give.

Wondering slightly as he tied the ugly tie if he should even show up to class or even breakfast in this. If he could just go straight to the Slytherin dorm and change and risk being late to class was maybe not the worst idea, then he didn't need to wear this in the first place. But the thought was quickly crushed when he overheard Longbottom asking Weasley what class they had first and Weasley answered with Transfiguration.

Great, he would never be allowed lateness with Mcgonagall, the neh rather wore the incredibly ugly tie and hoped no one noticed.

When he was dressed and had tried to comb back his hair in the best possible way he just had to give up. His bangs refused to lie back and after shamefully asking if anyone owned hairgel and gotten laughed at by Weasley, he let it be. Things was already as bad as they got, what could some messy hair do to ruined it more.

Draco followed a messily dressed Weasley down to the common room and prayed with every step that it would be empty, but he did not have that kind of luck. On the sofa sat Granger and that she-weasel Potter had seemed to have a thing for and talked low. When they heard Draco and Weasley approach both of them got up.

"Finally, where have the two of you been, I thought we would be forced to go down without you"

Granger went up to Weasley and gave him a good morning kiss, Draco looked away disgusted. Love-sick Gryffindor's, the whole bunch of them. He would be so much happier when he manage to get out of there, he looked towards the door, if he maybe could make a run for it, would anyone noticed? Would anyone care? He walked two steppes before someone came right into his line of sight, effectively blocking the way to the hole.

"Good morning Draco, how was our night, well?"  
The she-weasel stood in his way and Draco recoiled in disgust, what could she want. why was he even dreaming about her in the first place. He made a face to show that he didn't want anything to do with her but held back from any nasty comment. She didn't get the hint.

"Are you sick Draco?" The she-weasel put her hand on his forehead but Draco swatted it away with disdain. No longer able to hold back.

"I'm not sick, leave me alone!"

He hissed but no one apparently wanted to listen to him.

"I bet you are sick, you always get this cranky when you're having a cold. Take your scarf and let's go already"

Wesley whined pathetically from the big chair he had settled into but neither Granger or anyone else moved towards the door. Granger had gotten a hideous red and gold scarf from nowhere that she threw around Draco before he had the chance to defend himself. He pulled at the offending fabric but Granger tied it tighter and gave him a stern look.

"If you don't want to miss another transfiguration test because of you being bedridden you better take the scarf Draco, Merlin knows you are insufferable when you are sick"

Draco pulled once more at the said scarf but it wouldn't budge, either they had put a strangeling spell on it or Granger was terrifyingly good with knots. So he just gave in, what damage would one more gold and red thing do to his already tainted reputation. He would never had guessed the Gryffindor's would have it in them to kidnap and restrain him in their own tower. But on the other hand, it was definitely not like them to have a combined brain tumor making them think he was one of them, they all hated him. So for them to treat him like this, something must be going on, and it couldn't be a prank.

A prank that gave him bad eyesight and making everyone he ever been mean to treat him nice was just going too far, even if they had been Slytherins. So in conclusion, either it really was a dream or someone must have hexed them all, perhaps an alternative universe?

The moment the thought had made it to his head he couldn't let it go. Could this, whatever this was, be some kind of alternative universe? Did whatever happened back in the dark corridor psin reality completely out of control and put him into this? If that was so, what could have happened to Potter. Draco turned his head to see if there was anyone other in the room, a saviour-of-the-wizard-world perhaps, but saw no one. If the only people that had been in 'his' dorm, was Longbottom, Thomas, Finnigan and Weasley, then where was Potter? The she-weasel must have seen his confused glance because she kept bugging him.

"What's wrong Draco, are you looking for someone?" He contemplated if he should answer her or not, but decided that he as well could cover the truth.

"Yes… well I was thinking, are there no more people in our dorm? Aren't we missing someone?"

They all stared at him in confusion, apparently he had been wrong.

"No, if you were thinking about Luna, she's already down in the greenhouse I think. Seamus and Dean are asleep and Neville left for Luna before you two came down. Who else were you thinking of?"

Draco knew Weasley had mentioned Potter before, in their room. Talked about him as if they didn't like him, didn't knew him. Could he, just like Draco, have gotten into a different house? And if so, why had they in the first place. It was almost like they had swapped lives. He shook his head and mumbled 'no one' before turning away from them again. But not before long they begun to move, to Weasleys big relief.

He let himself be led out the portrait that covered the entrance to the gryffindor tower and down the hall by the chattering group, still thinking about the reason of everything, or if this was really just a bad dream that he could be woken up from by a hit from Pansy. He hoped it was the latter. The entrance hall was filled with people that walked in and out of the great hall, no one seemed to noticed that Draco was with people he usually wasn't. Some people he never talked to before wished him a good morning and a first year ravenclaw came up to him and gave back a book he apparently had lended her. Draco took the book with a confused face, but said nothing. He passed the double doors and everything seemed to be normal, otherwise then him being so incredibly not-normal, but everyone else didn't seem to mind.

The head table was filled with the usual teachers talking to each others and Draco couldn't stop to wonder what would happen if this wasn't a dream. What if he would have to spend the rest of his school-life in gryffindor, with bad eyesight and a good reputation. something had to be done. He sat down beside Granger, even though he wished he could sit anywhere else, and begun to eat slowly. He had to talk to Snape about it, maybe he knew a potion that righted parallel timelines, or maybe even professor Mcgonagall. He shivered with the thought to go to Mcgonagall for help, but rather her than the headmaster.

Granger had said that they had Transfiguration first, maybe he could catch the professor after, ask her if something like this was possible, or he could write his father, surely he must know something. The thought whirled in Draco's head and he didn't noticed the big oak doors opening and 3 people stepped inside, one looking just as confused as he felt.

Draco thought his heart would stop when someone shouted his name, someone he had been looking for that morning, someone whose voice he didn't want to recognize that well. He turned around swiftly and looked straight in the eye's of Harry Potter. Everyone had fallen quiet around them and in the silence, Draco could hear his own heart hammering loudly. He hoped no one else did because that would have been too embarrassing to know.

Potter stared at him as if he had seen a ghost, and Draco agreed that maybe he had too. The Potter he knew, the scrawny kid he used to be envious of and bully because he could do all those things Draco only dreamed of, and get away with them. The nerdy gryffindor with his round glasses and shaggy hair was nothing like the boy standing across the room with Pansy and Blaise in tow. He was well dressed, with a black shirt and matching pants under the open robe, he seems to have not bothered to do his tie correctly, and it hung loosely around his neck, making Draco wanting to grab it and straighten it for him. His green eyes was so much more in the absence of the glasses and, did he look taller? He had to make sure it really was the right person, they looked so much alike but still like a completely different person. He narrowed his eyes and spoke with perhaps more hesitation than was intended.

"Potter?"


	4. Trouble

The whispers was much worse than the silence. Harry didn't know if the school had finally caught up to the joke and all of slytherin would begin laughing in the next second, but whatever did happen, he couldn't stop staring at Malfoy. He could hear Zabini mutter behind him 'please Harry, not now, I just want to eat' but he paid him no mind, he took a few steps closer to the gryffindor table without really knowing why. He guessed he wanted to be certain that the person sitting with his friends really was the same Draco Malfoy he knew, or if it could be someone else. Like the rest of them knew him different, maybe it was the same with Malfoy. Maybe this was just a stupid dream after all. The blonde began to stand up but before he could move further, Hermione stood before him, looking more pissed than Harry had ever seen her.

"You leave him alone Potter, you hear me. Just walk away and no one gets hurt" Hermione talked to him with a low voice that dripped with loathing, but it still carried through the silent room. It made Harry want to cry, he had never heard her like that before.

Harry could see Malfoy's face behind Hermione and he looked just as choked as Harry. To see Hermione stand up to Malfoy's defence was so foreign that Harry faltered in his steps, what in the world was going on?

"Hey Granger, what are…"

Malfoy tried to ask but got silenced with a gentle hand and a head-shake from Ron who had also rose from the bench.

"Don't mate, it's not worth it"

Zabini had followed in Harry's heels and grabbed him by the arm when he stopped, Harry looked over his shoulder and wanted to ask what was going on but Pansy beat him to it. With a shrill voice that made some student cringe she yelled at Hermione.

"Do you think you can protect him Granger, do you pose as his knight in shining armour? Well don't! It's pathetic, you and him alike. Don't you try to pretend…"

But she didn't make it any further before Zabini had thrown himself at her and put a hand over her mouth, effectively muffling her angry rant.

Harry just stood frozen in shock. But he could see that Parkinson's comments had really taken to Hermione, she was literally boiling with rage. But she didn't have the chance to let it out, ron had stepped around the table and placed himself between her and Harry, looking equally pissed but much more controlled than her.

"Well if you think you are so much more Parkinson, why don't you take your boyfriend and piss off, we don't want any trouble and if you or Potter think you can just destroy another day for Draco and we will do nothing, then you are sorely mistaken. So take your sluttery mouth and leave him be!"

Harry had never heard Ron talk like that before, never heard him curse another person so disrespectfully. Harry had always assumed his mother had taught him better. But not now. By the slutty-comment, Zabini who still held a hand on Harry's arm had tightened his grip enough for it to hurt, and when Harry looked at him, his face was tightened in the same rage Ron had. Dangerous but controlled.

The whole exchange had happened so fast none of the leftover teachers had reacted, but now Mcgonagall's stern voice sounded over the students, effectively silenced everyone on the room.

"What in the world is going on in here?!"

She had apparently just entered the room because her confused gaze traveled from Harry, Zabini and Parkinson, to Ron, Hermione and Draco, with raised eyebrows. She did not look happy. With a mouth thin as paper and blazing eyes she zoomed in on Draco and Harry who stood furthest away from each other due to everyone else wanting to 'help'. Both looking way more confused than anyone else.

"Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy, you two follow me to my office, now. The rest of you I deal with later"

She swept out of the room with the same move Snape used to do whenever he wanted to be dramatic, Harry and Draco had no choice but to follow in silence.

When the two boys joined up side by side behind the vice principal they gave each other questioning look, Malfoy was the first to speak. In a hissing whisper so Mcgonagall would hear them he asked.

"I bet all of this is your fault Potter. How the hell are we getting out of this now"

Harry didn't like the sound of his accusation, not one bit. How in the world was something like this his fault? He didn't make them fall into a different set of reality, nor did he shout at Hermione to anger Ron. This was all Parkinson's fault.

"What do you mean by my fault? I bet you did something with the spell back in that corridor. What was it, a time reverse curse, or maybe a wacky dream hex? seriously, you always have something nasty up your sleeve. Besides, how is this even possible anyway?"

Malfoy looked even more sour.

"I did no such thing Potter, if this is anyone's fault. it's yours. You just had to shout my name in the middle of the great hall, making everyone aware of our situation. Couldn't ju just have shut your mouth until I had talked to Severus, or perhaps my father. Someone must know what the hell have happened"

Harry just continued

"I doubt Snape or even your precious father could help us right now. If you haven't noticed, it's not just us that are different, everyone seems to think it's normal. Do you really think your father would understand if you barge in and claims that you are not the person he think you are? Oh wait a minute, please do. I would love to see what his response would be. Would he just sent you back again, or would he lock you into ? Poor confused Malfoy, what a disgrace to his name"

Harry felt weird, angry but weird. The sass and nasty comment flowed out of his mouth like it was the most normal thing in the world, he wasn't usually like that, not even to Malfoy. And another surprising thing was that Malfoy just seemed to take it. He looked pissed, but he didn't have any of those biting comebacks he usually threw, didn't look confident that everything really was Harry's fault. He just stared straight forward with a sour face as they continued to follow Mcgonagall to her office.

Confusion was written all over Harry's face as they walked into the professor's office and sat down in two already pulled out chairs. He kept glancing at Malfoy who pointedly ignored him, maybe he had really taken to Harry's comment about his father, maybe he had been to mean. But nothing had ever affected him before, so why listen now? Mcgonagall sat down at her desk and started at the two boys.


	5. Something strange

Minerva Mcgonagall had had an early breakfast. After she left her room she went to the teachers lounge to catch up with some of the mornings news and bid everyone a good day. She had eaten in the great hall and chatted a little with Filius Flitwick before leaving for her lecture. She was to go through Vanishment spells with the 5th years that morning but before she made it to her classroom, she remembered that she forgotten to give Filius the charm-agenda she would use in the afternoon class, so she turned back to the great hall, hoping that he hadn't finished his roasted pear yet.

When Minerva entered the great hall she was met with and disturbing scene. All students that was left had gathered around 6 people who stood on the opposite end of the gryffindor and slytherin table, shouting obscene things at each other. At the front of the mob there was Blaise Zabini and Ronald Weasley, both looking about to explode. But Minerva had seen this before, she knew exactly whose fault it was, the only strange thing was that the 2 most common perpetrators was hiding behind everyone else.

Draco Malfoy, a tiny gryffindor 5th year who had become the slytherins punch bag had been on the edge with the pureblood house for as long as she could remember, was standing beyond Hermione Granger, looking as if everything happened to someone else. Confused yes, but not as scared and ashamed as he usually seemed. He almost looked annoyed.

Then there was Harry Potter, the one who used to be the main person creating drama and fights for no reason, just because he could, was almost hiding behind Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. Looking the scared and confused part instead of fearless and proud, that one definitely didn't suit him.

When it looked like Zabini was about to start another shouting match, Minerva had to interfere.

"What in the world is going on in here?!"

She knew all too well what was going on, but the situation just seemed too wrong for her not to ask. She didn't expect any answers, and like she thought didn't get any. Everyone in the room lowered their eyes shamefully, except Potter and Malfoy. They both stared at her like she had come to save them. She had to get to the bottom of this.

"Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy, you two follow me to my office, now. The rest of you I deal with later"

With the two boys in tow, she hurried to her office, if she had any hopes of starting her class in time she must be swift but tread carefully. Minerva could hear the two having a hushed conversation as they walked but only caught some words. Something with 'my fault, the spell, reverse hex, shouted my name, not the person he thinks, St:Mungos'

She couldn't for her life guess what they were discussing but as long as they refrained from tearing each other's eyes out, she guessed she should be content. When they entered her office and she sat them down in their usual chairs, the look they gave her made her stop for a moment. Potter, with his always so cocky smile who usually was the one most displeased and vocal about being sent to her office over 'something puny and insignificant' was looking at her with big eyes in a equal lost face. It was almost like this was the first time he was in trouble and he didn't understand why. He sat with straight back on the edge of the chair and threw continually worried glances at the one beside him. What in the world was he acting for? Malfoy on the other hand was completely opposite. He had strolled into the room with a grouchy face and folded his arms as he sat down. Sank as far down in the chair he could without falling off. He didn't meet her eyes and looked like he wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose, this was definitely not going to we swift.

"So you two" She begun, with no real plan on how to get the situation straight but continued anyway. Her eyes wandered from one student to the other without finding what she was looking for "Will any of you tell me what that was all about and why?"

Potter inhaled swiftly as he opened his mouth, as to explain everything to her but shut it again with a stern look from Malfoy. Something strange was definitely going on here, and she had to get to the bottom of it.

Minerva lowered her head and stared sternly at Potter, something she usually did when he thought himself 'too good' to be in her presence, but now looked the most likely to crumble under pressure. He hesitated but tried again after another questioning glance at the blonde beside him.

"It was my fault Professor, I didn't know Malfoy would be in the great hall and got surprised, shouted at him. But apparently Her...Granger, took it wrongly and accused me of bullying. I, Parkinson and Zabini just, I don't know, wanted to explain things, but Ron, I mean Weasley didn't want to listen so he flamed up and said some inappropriate things and and... "

He trailed off, not sure how to explain the situation without telling everything. Minerva just narrowed her eyes some more. Had these two made up something beforehand, to drive her insane? or had they perhaps swallowed a polyjuice potion and switched places? It undoubtedly looked like it, she tried her usual way instead.

"Well then Mr Malfoy, in the light of the situation and by the fact that Mr Potter is telling the truth, what is your side of the story"

To her amazement did Malfoy only shrug at her question, still not looking at her directly, she tried again.

"So you are saying that nothing happened? someone must have started it? whatever 'it' is? I am just trying to help you know..."  
She knew who usually started things but still wanted to hear him admit it. Malfoy drew a sigh and sat up straighter, threw a unreadable eye at Potter and then finally, looked at her.

"I'm sorry Professor, but whatever happened I doubt that you could do anything about. Unless you are willing to lend us a timeturner with some kind of parallel univers function, we are all set, thank you"

When he was finished he looked away again, like he couldn't bother less with being there. Potter seemed outrageous and flabbergasted at the same time by the others words, ignoring Minerva and staring fully at Malfoy this time. His mouth opened and closed without a word coming out, but he clearly wanted to protest or add something to what Malfoy just said.

"Is there something more Potter?"

The dark haired boy closed his mouth but was still staring at Malfoy with an angry frown, the other pointedly ignored him.

"No professor, nothing more"

He answered through clenched teeths. Minerva drew a deep breath to get strength, she would never understand these two. One moment it was as if they were flirting, the next they tried to hex the living daylight out of each other. And not a situation like they were completely opposite. Her poor head couldn't take this much.

"I will let it slide for this time then, but it I ever see you engaging in a fight like that again, actions will be made. Do you both understand?"

They nodded and bit out a stiff 'yes professor' before they left the room. When the door had glide shut behind them Minerva sacked in her seat, she was too old for things like this. All her career she had tried to be fair, strictness came a long way but if she didn't try to see things in equal measures, nothing would be in order. But the two who just left her office she would never understand. Minerva got to her feet and went to the door, she should at least see so they found their way to her classroom without starting another fight. But when she cracked the door opened she heard arguing voices, but what they said made her freeze.


	6. Handsome idiot

Draco was furious. not only had Potter showed up in the great hall and just felt the need to make a scene, he had been sent to Mcgonagall's office and been asked to explain something he didn't understand. Potter hadn't exactly made it better either. Draco always knew the raven haired boy was disastrous with words, they never came out right and he always succeeded to fuck something up, so when he opened his mouth to explain everything Draco had to silence him. If he knew Potter right, the idiot would tell Mcgonagall everything and that couldn't happen, not yet at least.

He had since long given up on the hope that this was just a dream. Everything was too realistic and people played along a little too well for it to be something made up by his own mind. And he was sure if this was a dream, Potter would be a little easier to deal with.

So not-a-dream it was, and judging by the confused look on the professor's face, they did not act like they used to, not in this universe at least. That was his current theory, that they somehow had been thrown into an alternative reality of some sort, a parallel timeline where everything was completely opposite to how it used to be. Well maybe not completely opposite, Pansy was still a chattering annoyance and Weasley was still a condescending ass, but other than that.

When they were allowed to leave Mcgonagall's office, Draco knew he was in for a shouting. Maybe he shouldn't had said that part about the parallel timeturner, but the hope about Mcgonagall helping them had vanished. Now he only had Severus, but if so many other things were different, perhaps the Potion master was too. Draco didn't want to think about it, he must be the same, he must help him. or them… If things turned back to normal, then maybe he could do some things a little bit differently.

He didn't want to admit that Potter had indeed gotten to him before, that his comments actually hurt. What would he do if no one could help, if he wrote to his father but got nothing back, was his father still alive? If he now, in some sort of twisted way lived Potter's life, did that mean his parents was dead too? Draco didn't want to think about it either, for now he must stay sharp and come up with a conclusion to 'their' problem before Potter could rattle them out to the whole teachers squad.

But the moment they exited the door, Potter would not play long nicely. He was clearly angry that Draco had apparently silenced him from telling when he himself told so much.

"What the hell was that about Malfoy?!"

Draco rolled his eyes but guessed he could try to play along

"What do you mean' what was it about'? do you really think Mcgonagall could help with whatever predicament we are in now? Did you really think that explaining that 'oh professor, Malfoy and I have waken up in the wrong houses and now we are confused because everyone seems to think it's normal' kind of thing. No, it's not Potter, and if you planned to run to your little Mudblood friend and ask her, you are in for a surprise. If you didn't noticed it before, she hates your guts. So if you could just shut up for five minutes I'm trying to come up with someone who could possibly know about thing like this"

Potter had a look as if Draco had slapped him, he was angry but still looked hurt, like the comment about Granger had actually upset him or something. Draco tried to pay no mind to the raven boy but found it hard, for some reason, the look on Potter's face almost made him want to run. To get out of there, hide somewhere and perhaps cry. He had no idea where the feeling had come from but concluded that his brain must be more fucked up than he first thought. They walked down the corridor, away from Mcgonagall's office but with no real destination in mind. Draco needed to think, but the hurt and confused look on Potter's face distracted him. It didn't take long before he had enough.

"What Potter? Is there something you want to say then just say it, get it over with"

The boy beside Draco made a sour face but closed his eyes to take a deep breath, as to gathered what he wanted to say. Draco couldn't help but marvel over the planes in Potter's face without the glasses, he had never really thought about them but with the strange height difference; he somehow had ended up much shorter than the Golden-boy, he got a new angle to observe from. Before, they had been around the same height, maybe Draco was slightly taller and leaner than Potter but not much to talk about, but now Draco nearly reached the black haired boy's nose. Potter had a pretty strong jaw, and years of playing quidditch had certainly made him more muscular. Draco still remembered the scrawny kid on the train he had tried to made friends with, perhaps for his father's sake but a little for his own as well. Everyone wanted to be friends with the Boy-who-lived, and Draco was no exception. He had been envious of Weasley and Granger who seemed to fall into place with such ease, that they without trying found a slot at Potter's side, a place Draco had wanted too.

Now with his eyes closed, Draco had a chance to observe the other better, how much would have been different if he hadn't been so proud that day, he would never know. Suddenly Potter opened his eyes again and their gazes met. A deep alluring green that was no longer obscured by glass made Draco's heart skip a beat, without any means to stop the redness that flared up in his face by the feeling, Draco had to look away quickly. Potter hadn't seem to even noticed anything because his voice was normal when he spoke.

"Well I guess it hadn't really hit me until now, we really are in some strange kind of situation here. And you are right, I'm not going to be able to speak to Hermione or Ron about it. We'll just have to figure something out on our own. I should be grateful that I'm not in this alone so I will respect you trying to help, even if your attitude could be better about it"

He ended with a smirk and Draco had to force his face from turning red once again. What in Salazar's name was wrong with him? it must be the brain tumor and lack of food that made it, or the shock of waking up as a gryffindor had made its track. Whatever it was, he would do everything he could to not let Potter think it was something it wasn't.

Neither of them had noticed the person observing them from the door they just exited, Minerva closed the door carefully when the boy's rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight. This was incredibly strange indeed, she must get to know more about it before confronting them. But that only meant she had been right from the beginning, something was definitely up with those two.


	7. Acting like himself

When Harry separated from Malfoy at the end of the corridor he couldn't help but wonder about the others reaction. Sure Harry had been furious, he had been confused as to why they weren't allowed to talk with Mcgonagall about it, but he also understood in a way. What he didn't understand was Malfoy's willingness to help. The boy's attitude had been like it always was, easily irritated and calculating. The were indeed in this together and Harry had never been very good with problem solving, he had always been a 'act first and think later' kind of guy, which had sat him in countless problematic situations that he somehow always came out of alive. It had been Hermione who had been the logical one in their gang, and now he had to do without her. Draco was not stupid, Harry knew that the boy had excellent grades and could think quickly on his feet, so maybe he wasn't so screwed as he first thought. They would come up with something, together.

He watched the other walk towards the Transfiguration classroom and allowed himself to remember the look Malfoy had given him earlier. The adorable redness that had spread over his face when he noticed Harry looking. Maybe he wasn't as tough as he pretended all the time. Malfoy's eyes had seem so much larger behind the glasses, just like he had noticed earlier in the great hall, it was a look that suited the smaller boy. Harry couldn't help but smile to himself, that was another thing, the height. It was refreshing to be taller than someone, and especially Draco Malfoy. The boy had seen so small compared to him, almost...cute? Harry tried not to blush by the word, sure Malfoy had always been kind of cute, but in an irritating, almost little sibling kind of way. Harry had seen it before, the look Malfoy sometimes gave him, like he wanted Harry to see him. But it had always vanished with a snarl and a sneer whenever they saw each other. If they boy was an actor, he wasn't a very good one.

Harry had never understood the other's motive, like if he truly wanted to be friends that first time they met, why had he acted like he was better than Harry. If it was Lucius who had made him, then why act on it all the time. Had Harry really hurt his feeling that time or what? He would never understand the other boy, but if they came out of this in one piece he would think about making a better attempt to be the other's friend. If Malfoy would allow it.

Wondering for a second what class he had, Harry continued down the corridor, maybe he would run into a teacher who knew. In any case, he wasn't specifically concerned that he was late, and that maybe worried him a bit.

After finding and gotten a telling off by Madame Pomphrey about skipping, he made his way to the first floor and entered Professor Binns classroom, the ghost didn't even seem to notice his late arrival. The Slytherin/Ravenclaw classroom wasn't exactly packed, by the look of it he wasn't the only one thinking about skipping. He saw Zabini and Parkinson sitting together and gave him a wave in their direction when he laid eyes upon them. The seat in front of them, next to Theodore Nott was free and Harry reluctantly made his way over. He had first considered sitting down with anyone of the Ravenclaws but soon decided against it when he saw their disapproving looks. It was definitely true that he didn't seemed liked around the school.

Nott leaned closer when he sat down but hadn't needed to because his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Hey Harry, you survived"

Harry raised an eyebrow at him and threw an eye around at the other students.

"Why wouldn't I?"

Nott shrugged.

"I don't know, last time you got sent to Mcgonagall, you came back with detention for a month, you were furious and just because you tripped Goldy. So tell me, how'd it go with the Doormat anyway?"

Harry looked confused. Did he mean Mcgonagall or...

"Doormat, I didn't know we owned a doormat?"

Theodore Nott made a face like he didn't know what to think, it went from horror to amusement to shock in the span of a second. Harry could hear Zabini facepalm himself and Parkinson holding back hysteric laughter without success.

"wha… Malfoy you idiot, I meant Draco Malfoy!"

"Oh he's fine, nothing bad happened really" Harry smiled and now Nott looked like he was about to throw up. Parkinson could no longer hold back her laughter and the hysteric noise stopped professor Binns in his monoton rant about the slaughter of goblins in the 13th century.

"Miss parkinson, if you could refrain from making that noise at my lecture, it could have benefitted the goblins to…"

And he was off again to not having anyone listening.

Harry knew the other thought he was acting strangely, but because he had no idea how his 'other self' had acted before, it seemed like the best to be himself. Maybe he could do something right with a few people if he wasn't an asshole to them, mainly the gryffindors. Harry didn't really cared if he upset the slytherins, but on the other hand, if he had to live out the rest of his life among them, maybe it wasn't the best idea to get on their bad side either. He must simply find a good inbetween.

But maybe he wasn't totally lost, if the impulse to mock Malfoy had been so strong before that he could be mean to him, maybe some of his 'other personality' had leaked through. Or he was just his usual grumpy self and Harry couldn't resist. So the trick here was to follow his impulses he guessed. When he had asked Malfoy outside Mcgonagall what the fuck was going on, and said boy had given him the pissy attitude about 'not telling' A thousand different comebacks and mean comments had flown through Harry's head. It had been unpleasant, but still not completely foreign to perhaps lach out to him, but Harry knew he was better than that, so he had to close his eyes and sort through all the irritation and anger to find the logic and mostly sane answer. It hadn't been easy, would have been so satisfying to just bite back something sarcastic and watch as Malfoy just took it. Harry didn't know how he knew that the other boy would not put up a fight, but somehow it felt right. To watch as his words destroyed the blonde.

Harry shivered where he sat, still beside Nott who was busy flicking small crumpled up pieces of pergaments onto the back of Padma Patil, who was sleeping with her head in her arms. What was wrong with him, no wonder nobody liked him if this was how he usually acted. He glances at Parkinson and Zabini behind him, why had they stayed then? Why did they act as if it was okay for Harry to treat people like garbage? He decided to ask Zabini later, he seemed like the most sane one in the group anyway.


	8. Trouble with Potions

Draco hurried past his new classmates when Mcgonagall let them go, he could still hear Granger shout after him but he didn't slow down. He needed to see Severus before the potion class, to know if he was like everyone else or if he could help. He got an ugly feeling in his stomach, a nagging concern that his last hope, Severus, would not be any different. But he had to see for himself.

The familiar path to the dungeon and the potion classroom felt like coming home. Like all of this had just been a bad dream after all and he was on his way to his godfather to drink tea. The happy feeling in Draco's chest dulled some when he tried the password for Severus door but nothing happened. He tried it again, same result. He tried to knock and after a while he heard footsteps on the other side.

The heavy door opened and Draco heaved a breath of relief when his godfather stood on the other side, looking at him with a questioning brow raised.

"Yes Mr Malfoy, was there something you're wondering before the lecture?"

His cool voice was exactly what Draco needed, but his distant question made him hesitate. Could he really ask Severus about it, what if he did thought him insane? Draco didn't know where all these insecurities came from but decided to give it a try, Severus had always been compliant with his request before, and surely nothing there should have change, right?

"Yes I was wondering if you knew some potion or spell that could send people into a different set of reality, or perhaps timeline?"

Draco took a step forward as he expected Severus to invite him in so they could discuss whatever Draco had on his mind, but the teacher only blocked the door more.

"Well that's a very particular question, why do you ask?"

Draco had to take the step back, the reserved tone was not something he expected from the man he thought he knew. He saw Severus eyes wander down his face, stop at his glasses and messy hair and then on the gryffindor scarf he still wore. Draco grabbed the offending fabric and tore it of, all to aware of the red and gold tie he still wore under but he guessed it would have looked even more strange if he took that off as well. He drew a strengthening breath of air, looked his godfather straight in the eyes and tried to explain on the doorstep.

"Well I'm asking because something happened and I need to know if it's even possible to do something like that and if it's reversible. You are the smartest man I know and and.. I could really need your help..."

He trailed off at the end, not sure if he should plead with Severus or just let it go. He knew it sounded strange, everything sounded so strange when he didn't know if people believed him or not. It was not a feeling he was used to, usually people trusted his judgement, people who knew him. But this Severus Snape did not. Draco knew he was now in gryffindor and had probably never developed a bond with the potion master, but was he still his godfather? Draco looked up at the man who still watched him with narrowed eyes, maybe he had to plead after all… His pride was damaged enough as it was, nothing like some compliant to make it worse.

"Please Severus, I just need someone..." But he never made it very far until the man cut him of.

"Mr Malfoy, must I remind you that you do not have the authority to call me by such familiarities? It's Professor or Sir and if there's anything you want I suggest you take it with the head of your house, now I have a class to prepare for and I assume you do too"

He closed the door in Draco's face and the former slytherin stood there, baffled with no clue on how to proceed. The shock of rejection was not something he easily overcame, he had never taken good with rejections, had always gotten what he wanted. Now he had met an dead end. Draco begun to think about his family, if Severus was no longer in it, then what about the rest. Could they really be dead? He had never had the best relationship with his father, but would still be upset if the man was gone, and his mother…

Draco forced himself to not think about his mother, if perhaps his father was dead, then she must be too. He never knew what he would do without her. All he had ever done, all he had said, complied with the Dark Lord, had been to protect them. And now perhaps it was in vain, if they didn't find a way out of this. If they didn't find anyone who could help. Draco had never really played with the thought of orphaned, could he make it on his own, would he still have the securities of the Malfoy name? Nothing was certain anymore, and that scared him, a lot.

He drew a deep breath of air, no idea to sack now, he needed to be sharp, especially if he didn't want to fuck up Snape's potion they would be doing in class. He hoped it was something easy. Draco walked back to the classroom where the rest of the students had begun to gather. Draco could see Potters messy mop of hair stick out in the crowd. Great, that's right, they were sharing this lecture with the gryffindors, or in this case, slytherins.

Granger was the first to see him approach the group, she immediately ran up to him and begun asking a million questions.

"Hey, Draco. I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you during transfiguration and after you disappeared so fast. How did it go with Mcgonagall? Did she say something, did you get detention? What happened to Potter? he seems so strange, happy somehow, did he do anything to you? Where were you just now? and where are your books? And the scarf? What…"

"Granger, please just…"

Draco held up a hand to stop the girl, she was almost as bad as Pansy when it came to talking. He was about to tell her to 'shut up' but stopped himself. He guessed they were supposed to be friends now and it could end badly if he offended her much. He tried again, trying to restrain himself as much as he could.

"Granger, would you stop destroying my ears? It went well with Mcgonagall, she let us go without detonation. Potter didn't do anything, I went to talk with Snape right now so I didn't have time to go and get my books. I will try and tell you what you want to know but for now, just shu..be quiet"

His patient was at its limits and he had no idea how to deal with the girl in front of him. But to his relief, Weasley came up to them in that moment, putting a hand on Granger's shoulder and smiled tightly at Draco.

"Hey 'Mione, give the lad some breathing space will you. Can't you see he have had it rough since breakfast. I bet Mcgonagall gave them both an earful and dealing with Potter can be exhausting"

Granger seemed to calm down somewhat.

"Yes I know Ron, I was just worried. Especially when I saw Potter's face, he seems way to content for things to not go his way, and then when you disappeared on us like that, I thought something had happened"

"Well it didn't, so just piss off"

His patient was gone and he didn't want anything to do with the brown haired girl. Sure they were supposed to be 'friends' but he hadn't gotten the memo when someone or something switched everything he knew to the complete opposite. Draco's eyes trailed passed Hermione's confused face to look for the messy mop of black he had seen earlier. He had no real idea why he was looking for Potter, maybe because it was the only familiar thing right now, even if it was the worst of all the things, in a way.

Potter was talking with Blaise and by the look, they seems to get together pretty well. Draco was definitely not jealous, not at all. Sure he had had a fairly okay relationship with Blaise before, but he didn't know if he would go so far as to call them friends. They hanged because their parents wanted them to, that was the only reason. Really.

The moment stretched on and Draco was lost in hi own thought, he never really noticed when Snape opened the classroom door for them and people starting to fill in. It was first when Potter moved and they caught each other's eyes that Draco became aware that he had stared at the newly appointed slytherin for far too long. Weasley laid his hand on Draco's shoulder, making the smaller male jump two feet in the air.

"Hay are you okay mate? best you get a move on if you don't wanna get paired up with Goyle or someone again"

He followed reluctantly after the redhead, all too aware that Potter was snickering at something and followed them not far behind. Stupid stupid Potter and his stupid eyes, they would be the death of him if he ever made it out of this alive.

It was a pain to look Snape in the eyes again after his totally failed try to get the teacher to help him. Draco didn't know if he could ever see the one he had admire for so long as anything other than family; and it was heartbreaking to know the other didn't feel the same anymore. He sat down beside Longbottom since it was the only seat available if he didn't want to be paired with Crabbe or Goyle. Draco knew he had just signed his own doom but rather one he knew would fail and he could blame everything on than those two baboons that right then looked at him like he was meat. Draco had no idea what he had done to be treated like that, and he rather didn't like to know.

Snape made an entrance, swept his eyes over the mass of students without acknowledge any of them, and then walked up to his desk.

"Today we are going to make the Amortentia serum, it's an incredibly potent potion that requires the brewer to be at his absolute best. I do not want to see any Sleepyheads or jesters in my classroom or that person will be sent directly to my office and get a T on their grade. This made the whole class stiffen, it was never as bad as when they would get a failing grade after just one lecture. As expected, Granger raised her hand.

"Professor, it clearly states that Amortentia is forbidden for…"

"I'm aware of what the rules says miss Granger, but we are not going to do a full version of it, just a small amount that will not be counted as illegal. Just for you guys to get the hang of some of the more difficult potions. Any questions?"

He worded the last questions with such hardness that not even Granger dared to speak.

"Since some of you are more incompetent than others" Here Snape directed his eyes towards Longbottom and to his surprise, Draco. "I will not have to repeat the 'accident' of last week, therefor, I'm going to pair you up"

A loud groan was heard over the classroom but Snape ignored it like always. He must be crazy to think they would perform better under pressure of working with someone they didn't like. Draco just hoped he would not get paired up with Crabbe or Goyle, Just like Weasley said, they were a nightmare to work with. Snape pulled out a piece of paper and begun reading everybody's name out loud.

"We have Miss Parkinson and Miss Brown" Pansy and Lavendel Brown both rose with stern faces and sat down side by side in the first bench. Both girls gave the other a mean look but otherwise said nothing. They knew as well as anyone that protesting was fruitless. Snape continued.

"Next we have Miss Granger and Mr Longbottom, Miss Patil and Miss Bulstrode, Mr Thomas and Mr Crabbe, Mr Weasley and Mr Zabini..."

Draco's heart jumped for every name that Snape read, please don't let him get paired up with Potter, just please don't…

"Mr Malfoy and…. Mr Potter"

Of course, who else! Fate hadn't been cruel enough to Draco that day, now he also had to survive a potion class with Mr 'I'm so fabulous just because I'm Slytherin' Potter. Draco figured he had already sunk low enough that his pride would survive a bit of frustration outburst, so he let his forehead hit the bench with a frustrated thud, not caring the slightest that he almost crushed his glasses, he hated them anyway. Why him…

At the back end of the classroom, Blaise gave Harry a shove.

"Way to go Potter, this is your time to shine. Show Mr Bookwok how a potion is really done"

Harry didn't know what to say, his head had come to a standstill when Snape had read his name together with Malfoy's, they had never worked well at, anything really. And their least successful class had always been potions. And why did Blaise think Harry could show Malfoy how it's really done? He if anyone had been the least successful one in potions, guess that must been different too.

Nevertheless he got up, took his things and went over to where Malfoy sat, or perhaps more slumped at his desk, Harry was determined to make the most of this class as possible, just to not get on Snape's bad side again. When he sat down, he noticed something missing from Malfoy's desk.

"Where are your cauldron?" The former slytherin had never been one to neglect potion, and to not bring his stuff? That was definitely not like him.

"I left them in the dorm" Malfoy grunted, head still buried in the wood. He refused to look at Potter any longer than he had to.

"Why?" Harry was really confused and tried to see the others face, but Malfoy just lay there. A movement to the left made him look up at the professor instead.

"20 points from gryffindor for failing to bring the right equipment to class Malfoy" Snape's sleazy voice made Draco let out a groan in response, this was definitely not his day. "And another 10 for attitude problem" Snape stormed off, clearly pissed of at Draco, but the other didn't care.

Harry threw a look of concern at the other, Malfoy was acting so strange, had something happened between Mcgonagall and then to make him give up? Perhaps he should help out, after all, they were kind of in this together.

"It's okay Malfoy, we can take turns with…"

Draco's whole body snapped upward and he stared angrily at the man beside him.

"I don't wanna share anything with you Potter!"

His voice had been significantly louder than he intended to and when his outburst died down, he noticed that there wasn't a sound in the classroom. Draco turned slowly, as to expect the worst and saw that the whole room had stopped what they were doing and stared at him, even Professor Snape. Potter's irritated voice broke through the ringing silence.

"Jees Malfoy calm down, It's not as if I asked you to share a bed or anything"

The horrid squeal from Granger and Pansy's loud giggle was the first sounds, then the whole classroom broke down in laughter. Snape did not look pleased.

"20 more points from gryffindor for disturbing the class Malfoy"

Draco could feel his whole face turning red as he quickly turned back facing the front. He refused to show Potter got the better of him and if Snape thought drawing points from gryffindor was helpful, then Draco let him.

The rest of the lecture went on smoothly, Draco still refused to look at Potter and did as the dark-haired male said. Chopped everything to perfection so Potter would not have anything to complain about. In the real world, Draco was the one who had been better at potions, but here, Potter seemed to have a pretty good hand with everything too. Maybe it was his 'slytherin blood' that acted up, Draco didn't like it whatever it was.

When they had finished their Amortentia serum to the best of their abilities with just half the stuff, Draco wanted to make a run for it as quickly as possible. The further away he was from Potter the better his life would go. But said slytherin wouldn't let him run and hide that easily.

"We should hurry up and eat and then go to the library to see if we find anything on this whole 'swapping timeline' stuff" Potter kept his voice low when they went up to professor Snape to turn in their position, careful so no one could hear them. Draco wanted to be sick by the thought to spend the whole evening in the company of Potter, but he guessed he didn't have a choice. They both wanted everything back to normal after all, and since getting help from Severus failed, they must simply do it on their own. Draco nodded sullenly and then left with Granger and Weasley who threw Potter disgusted looks as they passed.


End file.
